Human capital is in fact the biggest risk impacting business performance in today's growing and competitive environment, and although, there has been a management evolution in India, the maturity is not at that extent that it can identify human capital as a critical risk. 

Human asset is an important variable in any organisation, and the growth of a progressive organisation is dependent on the means of alignment of the right resource at the right time. Outsourcing HR services is an essential requirement to ensure that the corporate meets the dynamic changes confronting the industry on the HR front, and harness assistance in aligning their businesses. Human capital is in fact the biggest risk impacting business performance in today's growing and competitive environment, and although, there has been a management evolution in India, the maturity is not at that extent that it can identify human capital as a critical risk. As a process function, the very role of HR remains limited, and requires constant upgradation with infusion of new skills, technology and knowledge. Specialized outsourcing partners bring with them years of experience in business practices, with a better understanding of domain knowledge, and, deliver requirements on the basis of their understanding, thereby leading to an increase in productivity and efficiency in the entire process.

Advantages of an external specialist organization

Internal training processes function as a value add, and yet, there is also someone on the outside, who is better informed, is armed with superior education, and suited to broaden a workforce's collective skill sets, and bring about newer ways of thinking. Introducing external companies with expertise to conduct training can bring about drastic improvements in productivity, provided that it aligns with the strategic goals of the company. External training provides access to the best practices from the industry. By way of outsourcing, you can pick the best without any inhibitions.

External consultants bring forth a varied perspective, and provide ideas from industry practices. Often, superiors and subordinates make assumptions over the ways of running their operations on the basis of habit. An external trainer, however, is bound to question the very viability of these ideas, and even propose alternative solutions. In the case of internal programmes, employees and employers are generally reluctant to train their co-workers owing to the perceived pressure of criticism, while the external experts are completely objective, thus overriding a very crucial element of personal prejudice or bias in a training situation.

External learning and development programmes bring in improved organisational efficiency, greater control over training costs, access to expertise, and create an essential necessity for an organisation on the basis of their capability and domain knowledge. Several corporates have therefore chosen to outsource some functions to third parties as the best recourse, thus ensuring that the internal resources can impart more time and energy on strategic issues.

The challenges for HR

HR deals with many issues, but probably the biggest challenges that confront HR departments today are recruitment, retention, motivation and leadership development. As HR works to move to a more strategic role, addressing these issues has become a development are bound to leap greater strides with better employee retention. Poor leadership has been quoted as the biggest reason by the employees to exit a company.

HR plays an active role in the development of the organisational culture. Great workplaces with a great corporate culture are seen to be financially successful than their peers. Synergizing the right candidate and syncing with the corporate culture is the key to growth for any organisation , and HR actively manages and develops a robust hiring system which aligns with the organisational requirements. In a highly competitive environment that lays thrust on profitable growth, there is an added dependency on those competitive entities that enjoy command in a specific domain.

HR services, when managed through specialist companies result in lower costs associated with hiring adequate staff to recruit applicants. HR outsourcing companies with the expertise in such a domain conducts the entire selection lifecycle, and help in reducing time and energy of the internal HR team. Further, with the outsourcing companies handling all statutory requirements, employers save cost on payroll processing, thereby saving valuable financial resources. At the same time, employers are provided with ample opportunity to observe employee performance, qualifications and work habits before offering the temporary worker a permanent job. This helps reduce turnover once the trial period is complete, and leaves the employee and employer satisfied that the job is a good fit. Using specialist staffing companies for high-volume placements can result in tremendous savings related to turnover, training costs, and the intangible cost of turnover- employee morale among other things.

Adapting to new age business transformations

Businesses in the yesteryears were relatively easy to operate as there was a controlled environment and a reasonable legal framework (licensing and permits) that governed and regulated every business operation. There was always a room for regular audits and inspections, and the then media was not very proactive. The advent of globalization has essentially opened up a lot of opportunities for businesses to expand their horizons. However, this has also increased the complexity of operations. And, the regulations also have undergone a sea change to keep up with the new challenges. The enforcement offices and media have now become a powerful force that has a keen and watchful eye on all things newsworthy.

The regulatory bodies are also better equipped for these new tasks due to adequate technological support. In order to cope with the demanding regulatory environment, it is vital that organisations stand up and take notice of the different laws. They need to devise efficient and effective ways to maintain compliance to these laws and minimize their risk, for which either they have to increase the internal team strength with appropriate qualifications and experience, or outsource it to specialist companies whose main focus is to help organisation remain 100% compliant with the ever- changing regulatory environment.

Disruptive innovations are creating new business models and industries, and extinguishing the old ones. Social networks, new technologies and data analytics are having an enormous impact on how people connect, collaborate and work. Today, the war for talent has become highly competitive among enterprises, and recruiting the right talent at the right time is the primary task of the HR department.

The evolving landscape of HR technology and human capital management demand organisations to embrace such a change. Organisations today are working in a progressively uncertain, volatile and complex environment. The challenges experienced by each company are varied, but to a large degree, the capability to encounter those problems comes down to one key element - talent. And, this is where the role of specialist organisations with good human expertise and a vast network emerges to appoint the right resource who can be able to align with the business requirement. Organisations should align with specialist HR companies like us, and take the benefit of a unified platform that supports a full-range HR process including - sourcing and recruiting, learning and development, talent strategy and planning, performance management, benefits and compensation as well as succession planning.